The Book of Ruth is a small chapter packed with lessons on love and loyalty in faith and family. The context is in the period of the time of Judges. Part of the beauty of the book of Ruth is its focus on a handful of righteous people in the midst of a tumultuous time of corrupted morals for the children of Israel. We learn from Ruth, Naomi and Boaz that God, while managing the broader picture, is also intricately involved in the personal lives of His faithful children.
The meaning of the name Ruth is friendship.
1:1-2 We are introduced to a man and his wife, Elimelech and Naomi. They live in the time of the judges, there is both a literal and spiritual famine in the land. In seek of provision for the family, they move from Bethlehem into Moab with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.
1:3 In the land of Moab, Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi a widow with two sons.
1:4 Mahlon and Chilion each marry: their wives names are Orpah and Ruth. For tedn years, the sons, their wives and mother Naomi live in Moab.
1:5 After ten years, both of Namoi's sons die. Orpah and Ruth are widowed and childless. In this time period, unmarried women had very little, especially if they did not have surviving sons.
1:6 Naomi hears that the Lord has given provision in the land of Judah and begins plans to leave Moab and return home. This verse expresses that God visited His people by giving them bread. From this we can understand that God provided more than just physical provision. Wherever He is present, He is communing with His children; He is offering more than just bread alone, Matthew 4:4.
1:7-9 Naomi loves her daughters-in-law. She releases them from duty, telling them that they have been loyal in remaining with her sons and their mother after their death. Naomi knows that the logical solution for the women is to allow them to return to their original homes to find new husbands. She wishes for her daughters-in-law to find rest; as childless widows, their lives with Naomi will mostly likely be spent as nomads. She wants more for them as she genuinely loves them, even though their leaving will leave her totally alone with limited prospects.
1:10 Naomi's daughters-in-law genuinely love her in return. They do not wish to leave her, even though it would make more sense in society for them to. They tell Naomi that they will journey with her back to her people.
1:11-13 Naomi rejects their offer. She explains to them that she has nothing to offer them: no more sons, not even the prospect of more sons. Even if she were to become pregnant again, the women would not be able to wait until they grew to men to marry.
Naomi is in a desperate place. She does not understand the circumstances of her life, left a widow and grieving for her only two children as well. Because she so loves Orpah and Naomi, she wants them to separate from her and what seems to her as punishment from God.
1:14 With much despair, Orpah allows Naomi to release her. Orpah leaves to return to her family with a heavy heart. But Ruth refuses to leave Naomi; she clings to her.
Orpah and Ruth's responses to Naomi teach us about commitment in faith. Orpah has loyal, respectful, genuine love for Naomi but dire circumstance is enough for her to depart from it (albeit with a heavy heart). But Ruth's commitment is unconditional as well as loyal, respectful and genuine.
1:15 Naomi still insists that Ruth must leave her. Naomi is so sure that she has nothing offer Naomi; but the reason for Namoi's hopelessness is that she has lived too long away from the Lord. Perhaps because in the land of Moab Naomi's faith was allowed to wither, or perhaps because she was unable to accept or understand the loss of her family - Naomi cannot envision a future for herself.
1:16 Ruth rejects Naomi's insistence:
Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Ruth loves Naomi but she has also come to love Naomi's God. The God of the children of Israel. The creator of the universe. Ruth has learned the love and philosophy of God from her mother-in-law's kindness - and she clings to it. Ruth married into Naomi's family and remains unconditionally committed to it.
As with faith, when we remain unconditionally committed to it, God provides a future and a hope, Jeremiah 29:11. Ruth does not want to leave Naomi or God. She passionately wants to remain in the family even if immediate circumstances are lackluster. Ruth trusts that her best option is to remain with Naomi and God.
1:17
Where you die, I will die,
And there I will be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.
Ruth is so committed that she asks God to reprimand her if she ever breaks her covenant with the family. This is a beautiful, powerful message on faith. From Ruth we learn to plead with God to keep us wrapped securely in His arms; we prefer death over separation from Him.
Ruth knows that she is a widow. Ruth knows that she has no children, no land, nothing. But likely Ruth also knows that because she has been adopted by God, she has everything. For God extracts His children from desperate situations and places them into joy in abundance.
1:18 Naomi finally understands that Ruth will not, under any circumstances, leave her. She stops convincing her to leave.
1:19 Naomi returns to Bethlehem and is recognized by her people.
1:20 But Naomi does not any longer recognize herself, she even renames herself Mara: bitterness. Naomi is a broken spirit. She has lost her hope. She has forgotten who her God is; for our God is a loving and strategic God. Naomi has every right to be distraught over her loses. But a child of God does not need to succumb to hopelessness; God ensures that there is always hope for His children. 1 Peter 5:10 explains to us that our journey here is meant to teach us, establish us and ready us for the powerful force of God's will over our lives.
1:21 Naomi laments that she left Bethlehem full and returned empty. Well, that is the nature of development of faith. We leave God in times of abundance. We forget Him because we falsely believe that we do not need Him. But when we leave our provider, we leave our provision.
Naomi does not understand why she has been afflicted. But if she would only return to God, restore her love for Him and work at listening to Him again, she might begin to understand. She might understand that her loss is not the end. God is the proliferation of life. Of love. Of Hope.
1:22 Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem in the time of the beginning of the barley harvest. God has intimately seen the righteous generosity of Ruth's actions and therefore it is not a coincidence that the woman arrive in a time of abundance. Whether or not either of the women yet know, God has a beautiful plan for their lives. God has created a resting place for them.
So we must ask ourselves: which woman represents our faith? Naomi, Orpah or Ruth? Naomi remains faithful to God but her love for Him is dormant; and poor circumstances is enough to convince Orpah to move on, even from a family she loves; but Ruth loves the Lord and trusts in Him. Ruth's faith is unconditional; her faith endures depression and bleakness. The circumstances of her life are separate from her faith. Though all around her may be brittle and hopeless, her faith is resilient and hopeful.
Faith is an umbilical cord. When we remain tethered to our faith, we are able to receive direct provision from it. No matter what is happening to us, no matter what we can or cannot envision for our future, our connection with God separates us from it. We are not vulnerable to what the world has to offer us. God delights in loving us; our connection with Him is spiritual and that which is spiritual overrides that which is dust, the world. God delivers freedom, love and rest. Ruth understood that, and vowed never to leave Him, whom she loved so much.
